Alford says he won't pay $1 million buyout to UNM

UNM, Alford battle over contract buyout

A battle is brewing between the University of New Mexico and former basketball coach Steve Alford over a $1 million buyout.

Earlier this month, the school contacted Alford and told him that he needed to pay the school $1 million in buyout money after he decided to leave UNM to take a job at UCLA. Alford emailed UNM officials Monday and told them he will only pay them $200,000.

The crux of the problem surrounds Alford’s last day at UNM. He maintains that his final day was March 30, the day he announced he was leaving to coach at UCLA. The school said Alford is required to give 30 days of notice, and that means his final day was in April.

In March, UNM and Alford agreed to a new deal that contained a $1 million buyout clause, which was set to take effect on April 1. His previous buyout clause was $200,000.

“My resignation as Head Coach was effective March 30. I performed no services after that date and am not entitled to any salary for services rendered after March 30,” Alford said in an email to the school. “The Term Sheet of March 18 never became effective because UNM and I never reached agreement on a final written employment contract including those terms. My obligations and those of UNM are governed by the agreement in place before the Term Sheet.”

“It’s our position that he was a UNM employee through April,” said Kimberly Bell, associate counsel for the University of New Mexico.

Arbitration is the next step in the process, and Bell said it could take as long as a year to resolve the dispute.

Bell said the university feels good about its stance on the buyout.

“We feel really confident in our position at this time,” Bell said. “The contract is pretty clear, and the contract speaks for itself.”

Even though Alford offered to pay $200,000 Monday, UNM said it hasn’t received a payment from the school.

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